Change of Fire Season Status

Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) has declared a Restricted Fire Season for the entire Horowhenua District, as of 8am on Monday, 18 February 2019. A Prohibited Fire Season remains in place on all Horowhenua beaches and sand dunes.

Working on the Road

Horowhenua District Council is responsible for managing and maintaining the District's Roading assets and has a commitment to maintain them. These assets include the Transport Corridor, also known as the Road Reserve.

What is the Transport Corridor?

The Transport Corridor is defined as the area from the private property boundary on one side of the road to the property boundary on the other side of the road. This includes the berm (grass verge), footpath and carriageway.

Regulations for Working Within the Transport Corridor

Government legislation, being the National Code of Practice for Utility Operator's Access to Transport Corridors, required Council to tighten up control of the corridor. The Code recognises that the ability of utilities to get in and out of the road reserve as efficiently as possible to install, maintain and upgrade network infrastructure is critical. Specifically, the Code recognises that transport corridors are utility corridors.

The legislation requires Council to administer the process for access to the Transport Corridors under their control and Horowhenua District Council has extended this requirement to include all contractors (eg painters, builders, drainlayers and plumbers, etc) working within the Transport Corridor and for events such as parades, fairs and the like which utilise the Transport Corridor.

Working within the Transport Corridor

A formal request, called a Corridor Access Request (CAR), needs to be made for any work in the Transport Corridor. Once the CAR has been processed by Council a Works Access Permit (WAP) is issued to the applicant, along with all relevant local conditions.

If the intended area of work adjoins a State Highway then New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) will also require a CAR Request and their approval will also be required.

General maintenance or small jobs

All work undertaken in the Transport Corridor (Road Reserve) will require a CAR request to be submitted and approved by Council. Examples of works requiring a CAR include:

trenching works;

footpaths and entranceways

work within the berm or shoulder of the road eg painting, general maintenance;